Settin' the Woods on Fire

This article is about the 1952 single. For the 1994 album, see Setting the Woods on Fire.
"Settin' the Woods on Fire"
Single by Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys
B-side"You Win Again"
PublishedJuly 29, 1952 (1952-07-29) Milene Music[1]
ReleasedSeptember 1952 (1952-09)
RecordedJune 13, 1952 (1952-06-13)[2]
StudioCastle Studio, Nashville
GenreCountry & Western, Honky-tonk, Country blues, proto-rockabilly[3]
Length2:35
LabelMGM 11318
Songwriter(s)Fred Rose, Edward Nelson
Producer(s)Fred Rose
Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys singles chronology
"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"
(1952) 		"Settin' the Woods on Fire"
(1952) 		"I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive"
(1952)

"Settin' the Woods on Fire" was the A-side of a single by Hank Williams (opposed by "You Win Again"), released in September 1952.[4] The song reached number 2 on U.S. Billboard Most Played by Jockeys chart and number 2 on the National Best Sellers chart.[5]

Background

Although it sounds remarkably like a Hank Williams composition,[citation needed] "Settin' the Woods on Fire" was written by Hank's song publisher and producer Fred Rose and an elderly New Yorker, Ed G. Nelson. Williams recorded it with Rose producing at Castle Studio on June 13, 1952 in Nashville, with Jerry Rivers (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), and Harold Bradley (rhythm guitar), while it is speculated that Chet Atkins played lead guitar and Ernie Newton played bass.[6] The song peaked at number 2, while the B-side, "You Win Again," climbed to number 10. Author Colin Escott offers that the song "pointed unerringly toward rockabilly,"[7]

In 2007, an episode of The Batman was released called "Two of a Kind", in which Joker and Harley Quinn sing the song while causing chaos in Gotham City.

Cover versions

Chart performance

Chart (1952) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 2

References

  1. ^ "U.S. Copyright Office Virtual Card Catalog 1946-1954". vcc.copyright.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  2. ^ "Hank Williams 78rpm Issues". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  3. ^ MacEwen, William; Escott, Colin; Merritt, George (30 May 2009). Hank Williams: The Biography. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316074636. Retrieved 2 May 2021 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "MGM 78rpm numerical listing discography: 11000 - 11499". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 387.
  6. ^ Escott, Colin (2004). Hank Williams: The Biography. Back Bay. p. 347. ISBN 0-316-73497-7.
  7. ^ Escott, Colin (2004). Hank Williams: The Biography. Back Bay. p. 214. ISBN 0-316-73497-7.